Eailway car



(No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheeta 1.

J. W. POST.

RAILWAY OAR. No. 365,939. Patented July 5, 18817.

' Snow-tot Q N. PETERS. Fholoixlhogmphun Wash n nnnn C,

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J W POST RAILWAY OAR.

(No Model.)

' Patented July 5,1887.

illkli poi-['11 mow WWW (No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Smear, 3.

J. W. POST. RAILWAY OAR.

N0. 365,939.v Pat'ented JuIy 5, 1887.

mmy S l W tnesses lmmm further, to the construction and arrangementsNITED STATES JOHN XV. POST, OF

NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAILWAY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,939, dated July 5,1887.

Application filed November 24, 1986. Serial No. 210,797. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. POST, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, county of New York, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Railway-(Jars; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to make and use the said invention.

This invention relates particularly to improvements upon the car frameand trucks shown and described in Letters Patent No. 285,675, granted tome on the 25th day of September, 1885. Among the additional improvementssince devised may be named the means employed for uniting the ends ofthe tubes which form the circular and rectangular frames of thecar-body, and, further, to the device for supporting the buffer-springsin position; also, the construction and arrangement of the buffers andcouplings, and, still of various parts of the car-truck, by which thecar, as a whole, is rendered more durable and perfect in its actions;also, the downwardlyprojectiug flange of the kingbolt, which excludesdust and dirt and otherwise protects the wearing'surfaces.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the cartrucks and frame complete, showing the connections and arrangement ofthe principal parts. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the carframe and oneplatform, illustrating the arrangement of parts about the ends of thecar in connection with one of the platforms. Fi 3 is a side elevation ofone-half ofa car-frame, enlarged and partly in section to show theconstruction of the pedestals and journal-boxes, as well as the methodof securing the springs in the longitudinal tubes of the car-frame. Fig.t is a transverse section through the car and one of the cartrucks,especially illustrating the construction of the king-bolt and itsconnections. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the car-trucks,showing the arrangement of the braces in the same. Fig. 6 is a detailview illustrating the method of connecting the ends of the tubes formingthe circular and rectangular frames,

the coupling-hooks are attached.

as well as their attachment to the central longitudinal tube forming thecontinuous drawbar. Fig. 7 shows a bottom plan of the car, one of thetrucks in place, the other having been removed. Fig. 8 represents avertical section through the' drawbar, showing the bu lfer andbuffersprin g, as well as the method of attaching the coupling-hook.Fig. 9 shows the under side of one of the platforms with thecoupling-hook and its operating devices. Fig. 10 is a detail, partly insection, illustrating the manner in which the panels or outer coveringof the car is applied to the frame.

The principal features of this invention consist in forming the car andtruck frames almost wholly of metallic tubes, preferably of milledsteel, as combining great strength with small weights, and so arrangingthe several parts that the car, when inclosed with an in combustiblecovering, shall be practically indestructible, as it cannot be destroyedby fire, and offers the greatest resistance possible for the amount ofmaterial employed in its con struction to destruction from the crushingeffeet of collisions or the many accidents to which all cars are liablewhen in use.

In the drawings, A A represent the two longitudinal tubes which take theplace of the plates in an ordinary car-frame, and A is a central tubeplaced above and between the tubular plates A A, and connectedtherewith, at each end of the car, by a'transversc metallic plate, A, toact as an additional support and ridge-piece. Two tubular sills, ]B B,running lengthwiseone at each side of the car near its bottom-forn1 theouter lower corners of the car, While at a lower level and between themis the strong longitudinal tube B, serving as an additional support tothe floor-frame and acting as a continuous draw-bar, to which It will beobserved that these six large tubes extend the entire length of the carand present the greatest possible resistance to the crushing effect of acollision. Connecting these longitudinal tubes and taking the place ofthe floor and side frames, as well as rafters, of the ordinary car, arethe rectangular tubular frames or ribs 0 and the circular tubular framesor ribs 0. The rectangular frames 0. pass around outside of the sillsand plate, but within the ridge'piece and continuous draw-bar, while thecircular frames 0 pass withinthe sills and plates and outside of theridge-pieceand draw-bar, forming braces at every angle of therectangular frame, thus stiffening the car-frame against all lateralshocks or forces which would tend to deflect it from a straight line.These rectangular and circular frames have ends a on the tubes fromwhich they are formed, united at their lowest joints by being receivedinto suitable orifices in the clamp-pieces D, and are there secured byset-screws, brazing, or other proper means, which shall render theframes and clamp pieces in effect integral when united. (See Fig. 6.) Alarge opening through these clamp-pieces between the two frames receivesthe draw-bar B, thus uniting each set of frames throughout the length ofthe car with said draw-bar, causing the draft and ordinary bufferstrains to beequally distributed through its entire length,andpreventing the strains caused by the draft and buffing mechanism frominjuring the car, as they do when attached to each end only, as in theordinary manner of constructing cars; It will. be observed that theframes are arranged in sets or groups of three side by side,

two of which-namely, the outer ones of each set-are circular, with arectangular frame placed between them, and they may, if desired, befirmly united to each other at their intersections. The arrangement ofthe tubes in each may, however, be changed by placing a rectangular oneon each side of a circular one, or by forming each set of only one tubeof each kind. It will be seen that by this arrangement a large space isleft between the sets or groups of tubes, which space serves the purposeof a window-opening, the groups being placed at the proper distance fromeach other to allow of such use. The platform of the car and boards overthe same are supported above by the bent tube E, the ends of which enterthe tube A A and rest in contact with a spiral spring,b, coiled withineach tube and supported by an abutment, 71', formed by slipping a shortsection into the larger tubes and securing it in the proper position bybrazing or other app rop riate means. These abutments are found to bemuch better than the simple pin employed for the same purpose in mybeforenanred patent, as they afford a firm support for the spring-coilsthroughout their whole circumference, and wholly avoid any danger ofbreaking the springs by compression. An arm, E, is rigidly secured tothe middle of the tube and bent upward to bring it into the roperposition to enter thetube A, which is provided with an abutment andspring like the tubes A. This upper platformsupport,

car, would be forced inward, shearing off the pins a and allowing theforce or momentum of the opposing cars to be taken up by the spiralsprings I), which then act as buffersprings to resist the shock, and,with the assistance of the devices hereinafter described, preventfurther damage. Depending from the tube E are the tubular rods 0 and c,which are connected at their lower ends to the platform F, and thusassist in supporting the same. The frame-work of these platformsconsists of the cross-plate F, secured upon the projecting ends of shorttubes G G, which enter the ends of the tubular sills B and bear againstcoiled springs arranged between the ends of said short tubes, and anabutment within the sills, arranged and acting in the same manner as theabutments and springs in the tubular plates, hercinbefore described, anadditional connection being made between the shorttubes and sills bypins a, said pins being arranged to beicut by the telescoping of theshort tubes with the sills in case of a collision, and allowing themomentum of the opposing ears to be expended on thespiralspringsinclosed withinthe tubular plates and sills. Atubular beam, G, slightlycurved, extends along the front ofthe platform and serves as a bufferbeam, aswell as ajointof attachment for the supporting-rods c, whichdepend from the bent tube E, connected with, the plates. In order togive support to the steps, the rod 0 is carried downbeneath them,

bent at right angles to accommodate it to their form, then carriedupward through the ends of the beam G, and finally secured to the rod 0in such a position as to form an outer handrail for the steps. It willbe apparent that this platform will form no rigid obstacle to theinward, movement of the tubes E, E, and G when made necessary through acollision or buffers project a short distance in front of the platformand serve all the purposes of the buffers on ordinary cars, and may, ifdesired, be provided with a socket for the reception of a link andpin-hole to receive a pin to allow coupling to be made with the link andpin now in common use;

The coupling device which I prefer to use, and which is illustrated,together with its op? erating mechanism,in Figs. 8 and 9 of thedrawings,consists of the hook I, pivoted to an extension of the plate E,which is connected directly to the continuous draw-bar B, said hookhaving a lateral swinging movement within the guide d,secured to theunder side of the platform. A spring, d, is also secured to IIO theplate F and has its free end bearing against one side of the car. Bymeans of this construction it is evident when two cars are pushedtogether on the same track the beveled ends of the hooks will allow themto pass each other until the hooks engage, in which position they willbe retained by the springs (1 until released by withdrawing the hooksfrom their engagement with each other.

I accomplish the disengagement of the coup ling-hooks when desired bymeans of a vertical shaft, I, journaled upon theplatform of the car, itsupper end provided with a handwheel, I, and itslower end projectingbeneath said platform and connected by a chain, (1, with thecoupling-hooks. It is evident that by rotating the shaft J and windingup the chain the hooks will be drawn to one side, and thus disengaged.

The kingbolls K, by which the car is connected with the trucks, areattached to the drawbar B at suitable points, as follows: The upper endof the king-bolt is expanded so as to form a large head with asemicircular groove in its top. This groove receives the lower half ofthe draw-bar, which is secured therein by means of the cap K,alsoprovided with a semicirculargroove to receive the upper halfof thedraw-bar, and secured to the head of the king-bolt by screw-bolts, which:ause said cap and head to firmly clasp the draw-bar, and thus retainthe king bolt in its proper position with relation tothe car-trucks.There is also a depending flange, 00, made integral with the head of theking-bolt, which completely overcaps the top of the truck'- soeket 0,thus protecting the bearing-surfaces from the usual accumulation of dustand dirt, not only greatly lessening the ordinary friction, but also thewear of these important connections. These trucks are shown clearly inFig. 5 of the drawings, and are constructed almost wholly of metallictubes, the main frame consisting of two tubes, L and L, bent into arectangular form, their ends united, and one placed above the other. Atthe sides of the truck the tubes L and L are separatechso as to form atruss in connection with the space blocks 0 and pedestals M M,which actas struts between the upper and lower tubes. The space-blocks 0 alsoserve as a means of connecting the bolster-beams N with the side frame.These beams N are placed at a suitable distance apart to receive betweenthem the king-bolt socket O, which receives the kingbolt of the car, andin which it may be retained, if desired, so that the car cannot separatefrom the truck, by a set-screw, c, or bolt passing through one side ofthe socket and entering arecess in the king-bolt. This connection of thetruck with the car allows both a lateral and vertical movement of thetruck with relation to the car, the first of these movements beingsecured by the turning of the truck upon the king-bolt as a center andthe second by the oscillation of the car upon the kingbolt,

the draw-bar forming thejournal uponlwhich it rocks. The bolster-beamisfurther strengthened by the curved bracebarsff, the ends of which aresecured in the pedestals and at midlength to the bolster-socket, thusforming a strong diagonal bracing for the truck-frame. The pedestals M Mare also of tubular form, and in addition to their connection with thetruck-frame bars L L are further stiffened by the longitudinal braces gand l1. 72, the first of which (the brace g) is connected at midlengthto the lower part, L, of the truck-frame, its ends bending downward anduniting with the pedestals at their lower ends, the whole forming astiff longitudinal bracing for the trucklrame as well as thepedestals.The pedestals are slotted on the inner side to a lo the passage of theends of the car-axles I P, the journal of which rests in the boxes i "i,w i in turnsupport the Weight of the truck-fra1ne and car through thesprings s, which are placed within the pedestals between the lower barof the truck-frame and the axle-boxes.

In order to prevent the axle-boxes from fa1l ing out of the pedestalswhen the truck-frame is, for any purpose, raised or taken off the track,short sections of tube at m are secu e in the lower end of the pedestalsbyset-scre a n, readily removable when it is desired {0 change the axleor remove them for other p11 poses.

In order to give side bearings or supports to the ear to preventexcessive oscillation, upwardly-projecting steel bearings r r aresecured to the upper bar, L, of the truck-frame upon each side of thetruck. The upper ends of said steel bearings enter the curved andgrooved wear-plates g g, secured upon the bot tom of the car, and notonly steady the same, but assist in carrying its weight, thus relievingto a certain extent the load upon the kingbolt socket. The downwardlyprojecting flanges of the wear-plate protect the engaging surfaces fromthe dust and dirt, and thereby greatly lessen the friction in turningcurves.

In Fig. 10 of the drawings I have shown the method of attaching thecovering of the car to the frame-work; but as this covering forms thesubject of a separate application for patent it is not necessary tofurther describe it here. The car frame and trucks, as will be seen bythis description, are composed. almost entirely of metallic tubes, thuspresenting the metal in that form which experience has demonstrated asaffording the greatest strength for a given weight of metal, and theparts are so arranged and proportioned as to avoid an excess of strengthand consequent increase of weight in any one part over the rest, thusforming as a whole the lightest running-gear and car-frame in proportionto its strength that can be constructed from the same weight of metal.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent the following:

IiO

IIS

1. As an improvement in car-framcs, the combination of the tubularplates and sills with the groups of the tubular rectangular and circularframes or ribs and the continuous tubular draw-bar connected with saidframe, as set forth.

2. In a railway-car frame, the combination of the groups of tubularrectangular and circular frames with the continuous tubular drawbarsubstantially as specified.

3. In a railway-car frame, as a means of uniting the ends of the tubularframes and said frames with the draw-bar, the couplingpiece D, providedwith suitable openings to receive said frames and draw-bar, as shown anddescribed.

4. In a railway-car, the tubular continuous draw-bar B, in combinationwith telescopic extension-pieces G and buffer H, arranged and operatingsubstantially as set forth.

5. In a railway car, the tubular continuous draw-bar B and telescopicextension-pieces G, in combination with the hook-couplings I andtheir-operating mechanism, substantially as specified.

6. In a railway-car, the platform F, partially supported by theroof-framing, in combination with the rods 0 and a; connectingsaidplatform with the roof-frame, and also forming a support for the stepsand a hand-rail, as set forth.

7. Ina railway-car, the platform F, connecting-plate F, and beam G, incombination with the telescopic extension-tubes G, the spiral springs,abutment-rings, and tubular sills B B, arranged, as shown and described,to actas an additional buffing mechanism and to prevent danger fromcollisions, as specified.

8. A railwaycar provided with grooved wear-plates g, in combination withthe steel bearings 1-, projecting upward from the side frames of thetruck and entering the grooves of the wear-plates, as set forth.

9; In a car-truck frame, the combination of ranged to prevent thewithdrawal of the kingbolt from the socket, as set forth.

' 12. In arailway-car, theking-boltK, in combination with the cap K anddraw-bar B, ar-

ranged to connect theking-bolt directly to the draw-bar, as set forth.

13. In a railway-car, the king-bolt secured to the draw-bar, as shownand described, and provided with the downwardly-projecting flanges m, asand for the purpose specified.

14. The combination oft-he king-bolt K,having the downwardly-projectingflanges 00, with the king-bolt socket 0, carried by the bolsterbcam N Nupon the truck-frame, as set forth.

In testimony that I, claim the foregoing as my invention I hereby affixmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. POST.

\Vitnesses:

M. T. E. CHANDLER, M. A. BALLINGER.

